Chairman: SDMC aims for zero major fires in Miri during hot, dry spell

Uggah (centre, head of table), Dr Sim (on Uggah's right), and other officials at the SDMC meeting held on July 31, 2024.

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Aug 1: The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is targeting zero major fire occurrence in Miri during the current hot and dry weather, said its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah, who is also Deputy Premier of Sarawak, chaired the SDMC meeting yesterday (July 31) to discuss plans for dealing with the situation with all divisional and district disaster management committees, as well as relevant government departments and agencies.

He emphasised that the focus is on Miri because 42 of the 152 hotspots detected in Sarawak between Jan 1 and July 30 of this year were in the division.

“In July alone, we recorded a total of 90 hotspots in the State, with Miri again topping the statistics with 21, followed by Kapit with 16, and Bintulu and Sri Aman with 11 each,” he stated.

He further noted that the peat soil area in Kuala Baram, Miri, is particularly prone to bushfires during hot and dry seasons.

“So all the relevant departments and agencies and landowners there must be proactive in all their preparations,” he added.

The chairman also specifically tasked the Fire and Rescue Department and the State Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) with using drones to monitor any signs of smoke.

Additionally, he called for constant manning of monitoring towers in the area and intensified surveillance, monitoring, and enforcement activities by the NREB.

Furthermore, Uggah urged all relevant authorities, including landowners, to work together to prevent bushfires.

He noted that, according to briefings from NREB, Air Pollution Index (API) readings in Sarawak ranged from good to moderate from Jan to July, with no unhealthy levels recorded.

“Fortunately, we had not recorded any unhealthy API. The SOP (standard operating procedure) on haze will be activated once the API reaches 100,” he said.

He added that NREB has frozen open burning permits for companies in Sarawak since June.

Uggah advised the public against conducting any open burning to prevent uncontrolled fires.

He also urged residents in longhouses and villages experiencing drinking water shortages to report to their respective District or Resident Offices for assistance.

Also present at the meeting were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian and Sarawak Deputy Minister for Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development, Datuk Mohammad Razi Sitam. — DayakDaily